By Aaron Miller-
The World highest Court will hold hearings next week on a legal suit brought by Ukraine against Russia.
The UN court – also known as the International Court of Justice – in the Hague, Netherlands, will hold the hearings on Monday 7 and Tuesday 8 March, in a historical case expected to conclude with a guilty verdict of war crimes against Russian president, Vladimir Putin.
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Ukraine filed a legal suit against Russia at the highest United Nations court in The Hague for disputes between states over the weekend, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said.
In the application filed on Saturday, Kyiv also accused Russia of “intentionally killing and inflicting serious injury on members of the Ukrainian nationality”, the ICJ said in a statement.
The court procedure comes after Russian President Vladimir Putin attempted to justify the invasion by claiming Ukraine was committing genocide against the country’s Russian-speaking population. He used this unfounded claim as a pretext to recognize the independence of the breakaway eastern republics of Donetsk and Lugansk and launch a full-scale invasion of his neighbour on Thursday.
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The Russian leader has also alleged neo-Nazis and fascists make up Kyiv’s leadership.
Kyiv requested the court to indicate provisional measures “to prevent irreparable prejudice to the rights of Ukraine and its people and to avoid aggravating or extending the dispute between the parties under the Genocide Convention”.
The potential stumbling block to the claim is the jurisdictional grounds. Russia has never expressly accepted the ICJ’s compulsory jurisdiction, neither does the Court have jurisdiction over aggression or the breach of the prohibition on the use of force under Article 2(4) of the Charter.
Jurisdiction can be grounded in the compromissory clause in Article IX of the Genocide Convention, to which both states are parties.
Under that article, the Court jurisdiction over ‘[d]isputes between the Contracting Parties relating to the interpretation, application or fulfilment of the present Convention, including those relating to the responsibility of a State for genocide or for any of the other acts enumerated in article III.’
Russia was today sent an urgent message to prepare in case the court does order provisional measures, or immediate steps, to protect Ukraine, as the latter has requested.
Ukraine’s suit was filed on Saturday 26 February – the third day of the Russian invasion – and, in it, the country argues that Russia’s claim it invaded Ukraine to prevent a genocide is false.
Panic
The legal suit is a reflection of the fear, panic and alarm over the manner and scale of the invasion which has so far shown no signs of being slowed down.
Ukraine president, Zelinsky has been in a panic over the mounting attacks against his people by Russian forces, and has expressed his fears that he and his family are a main target of Putin’s callous regime.
As the fighting has intensified over the days, Russia has been shocked by the resistance put up by the Ukranians, who have captured and killed a number of Russian soldiers , though are still suffering the most casualties in this bloody war.
Ukranaian civilians have been targeted with missile strikes in an attempt to demoralize the population, the government in Kyiv said on Tuesday.
Two Russian missiles struck the TV tower in the Ukrainian capital, knocking out some access to news and broadcasts. Ukraine’s defence minister, Oleksii Reznikov, said the Kremlin was preparing to cut off a large part of Ukraine from the internet and communications.
Kyiv’s mayor, Vitali Klitschko, confirmed that the TV tower was offline, its substation and hardware having been damaged. Engineers would try to fix the tower and broadcasts would restart as soon as possible, he said.
“Its goal is to break the resistance of the people and the army. They can arrange a breakdown of connection. After [that] the spread of massive fake messages that the country’s leadership has given up,” Reznikov posted on Twitter. He added: “No surrender! Only victory!”
Zelinsky has also signed an application to join the European Union, to cement ties with the block.
Ukraine formally applied for EU membership on Monday, but the process is likely to take years despite the support of member countries after Russia’s invasion.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan welcomed overtures by EU officials toward Ukraine but urged the bloc to “show the same sensitivity” towards Turkey.
Accession talks have been stalled over a number of issues, including the country’s steps away from democracy.
However, France , Germany and Poland expressed a welcoming hand to Ukraine today
At a meeting of the “Weimar Triangle” in Lodz, Poland, the three countries said they “reaffirmed their commitment to strengthening the political association and economic integration of Ukraine with the European Union and its internal market”.
Ukraine formally applied for EU membership on Monday, but the process is likely to take years despite the support of member countries after Russia’s invasion.
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